Overview of Battlefield 3 Premium

Battlefield 3 premium is available now on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. More than 800,000 people bought the premium service within a fortnight of its release[4289]. The new service has several benefits to players of the game.

Expansion Packs

Purchasers of Battlefield 3 Premium receive all of expansion packs for the remainder of Battlefield 3 including two weeks early access. Back to Karkand and Close Quarters are two of the expansion packs that have already been released.

The Back to Karkand (B2K) expansion includes four popular maps from Battlefield 2 – Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, Wake Island and Sharqui Peninsula. It also included ten new weapons, new assignments, awards and new vehicles. Close Quarters features four tight, infantry maps consisting of Donya Fortress, Ziba Tower, Operation 925 and Scrap Metal. New weapons can be unlocked as can new assignments and dog tags.

September 2012 is the scheduled date for the release of the expansion pack Amoured Kill. Aftermath is expected in December 2012 and End Game is due to be released in March 2013. Each of these expansion packs includes four new maps, new weapons and vehicles. A new game mode is also going to be released in Amoured Kill.

Credit: Electronic Arts Inc.Videos

Premium members are able to view footage for expansion packs before release and have special access to tips given by DICE developers. The first video contained tips for playing on the Close Quarters maps from Niklas Fegraeus, Lead Designer. July’s content will be an overview of the weapons included with the Close Quarters pack by Alan Kertz, Core Gameplay Designer. Dice has scheduled one video for release per month.

In-Game Content

The Advanced Combat Blade model 90 (ACB-90) knife is exclusive to premium members. Private camos for weapons and soldiers are also available. Bonus content packs are due to be released in August 2012, November 2012 and February 2013.

Double XP Events

Exclusive access to double XP time on Battlefield 3 is given to premium members. At least one double XP event is scheduled for each month. It is important to note that DICE does also provide some double XP events for non-premium members.

Reset Stats

The ability to reset your soldier’s stats in Battlefield 3 is a new feature. This allows the player to reset their score per minute, kills and deaths as well as win and losses stats. The overall lifetime stats are still able to be seen however.

Dog Tags

DICE promotes new dog tags as part of their premium pack. Unlike the original tags for the game, these are made to look like carbon fibre and gold.

Strategy Guides

Exclusive strategy guides are provided to premium members. The Close Quarters strategy guide is scheduled for release in July 2012. The PDF will include information relating to the expansion pack written by Prima Games. Three other strategy guides have been planned and coincide with the other expansion pack releases.

Assignments

New assignments are included in the premium pack. These include Jack of All Trades, Wrench Wielder, Bullet Provider, Location Scout and Life Saver.

Queue Priority

When queuing to get into a game, premium members are given priority. The new line up priority still allow VIPs to get into the server first, premium members next and then regular players.

How to Buy Battlefield 3 Premium

Console gamers can buy premium using the in-game menu and PC players are able to purchase the service using the origin store. Purchasing premium will save a player around 50% compared to the price of buying the expansion packs separately.